Ontario Listing Agreement Decoded: Commission, Term, Holdover & Cancellation (2026 TRESA)

Quick Answer

Standard range: 4-5% + HST

Ontario listing agreements typically set total commission at 4-5% of sale price + 13% HST. Split: listing side 2-2.5%, buyer side 2-2.5%.

• $1M home at 5% = $50,000 commission + $6,500 HST = $56,500 total
• Note: commission isn’t regulated — it’s negotiable. Low-fee models (1-2% listing side) are increasingly common, though they affect buyer-agent attention.

Listing side vs buyer side

The listing brokerage specifies what the buyer’s agent receives.
• ‘Total 5%, buyer 2.5%’ → seller pays 5%; listing keeps 2.5%, buyer side 2.5%
• ‘Total 4%, buyer 2.5%’ → seller pays 4%; listing keeps 1.5%

2026 TRESA tightened MLS disclosure of the buyer-agent percentage so buyers and their agents can see compensation upfront.

Typical: 60-180 days

OREA Form 200 Section 5 ‘Expiry Date.’ Common terms:
• 60 days — when seller has urgency or strong leverage
• 90 days — standard
• 120-180 days — luxury, slow markets, unusual property types

Expiry auto-terminates the agreement, but the holdover clause may still apply (next section).

Choosing your term strategically

Start at 90 days with a verbal or written check-in: ‘If we’re stagnant at day 30, we re-evaluate price and strategy together.’ Gives your agent runway but preserves your leverage.

Warning sign: agent insists on 180 days and refuses mid-term review — that’s a portfolio approach, not a sell-your-house approach.

What ‘holdover’ means

Form 200 Section 5(B): For 60-90 days after expiry or cancellation, if your home sells to a buyer ‘introduced during the listing period’, you still owe the original listing brokerage their commission.

‘Introduced’ is broad — past showings, OPEN house visitors, MLS email subscribers can all qualify.

How holdover bites in practice

Real case: Client listed $1.4M for 90 days, no offers. Cancelled, hired a new brokerage at $1.35M, sold to someone who’d toured during the first listing. Old brokerage sued for commission — court awarded $35K.

Protection move: At cancellation, demand the old brokerage’s written ‘list of introduced buyers.’ That list defines who the holdover applies to. Anyone not on it is fair game for the new agent without double commission risk.

Unilateral cancellation rarely works

Form 200 has no ‘right to cancel’ clause. Cancellation requires mutual consent via OREA Form 242 (Cancellation of Listing Agreement). If your brokerage won’t sign, you’re contractually stuck.

Negotiable cancellation triggers

(a) Material agent failure (no open houses, no showings scheduled for a month); (b) Agent leaves brokerage; (c) Major seller-side life event (death, divorce, relocation); (d) Property needs long-term repair — temporary suspension.

Smart move at signing: negotiate an ‘early termination clause’ upfront — for example, ‘Seller may cancel with 30-day written notice if fewer than 10 showings occur in the first 60 days.’

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